I have my 425 on a UPS (all my gear is), so it's rarely without power or turned off. The auto on/off works fine. However, occasionally I'll pull the plug for some reason or other. When I do, I have to reset the volume and phase cue again. Just wanted to mention that for those who might wonder about it.

Also, someone was asking a few posts back about how often you have to twiddle with the phasecue and as noted, not so much after you find the sweet spot for your setup. However...every now and then if you have some juicy material on, it pays to tweak it if you want the absolute best sound. All that is required is to turn the volume up a bit and set phasecue off and then walk it up a setting at a time until it sounds good to you. You get better at this with experience. I can do it in about 3 seconds now as I know the "sound" I'm looking, uh, listening for. Early on, you'll twiddle more to learn what sounds best to you.

Very nice when you get it right. With the right material - very, very nice.

Bron, if I understand you correctly, if there is a power outage to the home, the ZVOX settings are lost, and have to be reset when power is restored???

The 430HSD is really tempting me. I would like to use it as the primary source for general TV viewing and then blend it as a "center fill" when using my existing two channel audio system for movies. My tv (LG55LHX) only has a single optical output so I will need to feed the optical output to an optical splitter (such as a Shaxton PTLA-01) and then on to the ZVOX for the center channel and my existing Gefen DAC for the 2 channel audio.

I'm not sure I understand exactly what you intend, but yes, it might work. You can always call ZVOX and talk to them first. They are generally very helpful. You'll also have 30 days to try it out risk free.

I assume your LG has no analog audio out or headphone out? That would give you more choices and avoid the need for the splitter, but may not matter to you if you prefer using the opt link anyway.

The root cause is LG's decision to NOT include any analog audio output in any format at all.
With ONLY a single optical output to operate from, it becomes very limiting if one wishes to overcome the limitations of the tiny speakers in the new sets during general TV format viewing and to also deal with integration of the sound from video sources into an excellent existing two channel audio system.
That single optical output is (from the specs) DD 5.1 format.

Therefore two output feeds are necessary: ( thus the need for an optical splitter)

#1 - for the speakers that once were included in the space of the TV cabinet and no longer are
#2 - for the existing audio system used for really good audio program material

What I am trying to do is to satisfy # 1 by having the ZVOX 430HSD as the "all of the time audio output source" and to supplement its capability (while retaining it as a "center speaker") with the capabilities of my Wilson Audio speaker system and not add additional non-spousal approved wiring and complexity to the room.

I have not heard the zVox in question, but I can not imagine it being a sonic match for Wilson Audio speakers of any size. When faced with a similar problem with nowhere near as good a system, I used the phanton center channel mix from my preamp for Video and straight two-channel for audio.

The root cause is LG's decision to NOT include any analog audio output in any format at all.
..

What I am trying to do is to satisfy # 1 by having the ZVOX 430HSD as the "all of the time audio output source" and to supplement its capability (while retaining it as a "center speaker") with the capabilities of my Wilson Audio speaker system and not add additional non-spousal approved wiring and complexity to the room.

Thanks, RustyBlue! It's always good to hear from someone who appreciates what we've done here.

I do think it will work, though I would still check with ZVOX. You could get the 430HSD and hook it up to the opt output for the 30-day trial to see if the sound quality meets your needs. ZVOX used to even pay return shipping, so it was truly a no risk deal (I would verify if they still do this).

In any case, the people at ZVOX are wonderful to deal with -- a refreshing change from many companies these days.

I think the manufacturers are making a mistake dropping analog out, but that's another discussion. Again, if you give the 430HSD, we'd all be very interested in your impression of it. I have not heard the 430 myself, but assume it will be just as good as the previous 415 and 425 (which I liked) and others.

IMHO, your best bet is the ZVOX 425xs or the 575. They both have powered dual subwoofers. The 425xs is best to mount under or above a wall mounted TV. The 575 is suitable for setting even a 65" Panasonic Plasma on top of. Works great. We are Soundbar Resellers, including ZVOX, Yamaha, Atlantic Technologies, etc. Another thing brought up here: Does anyone make a Soundbar that does not bounce sound off of walls? Yes. the Niro Soundbars do that. Most Soundbars bounce sound off side/ back walls. That technology is known as "Reflected Sound". With the Yamaha SB's, you can change the sound beams to reflect differently, if necessary. The Niro's ( also known as the Nachamichi Company) They use a different technology known as "Time Delay", which does not require a back wall to work.They also don't require alot of Speakers ( in the case of Yamaha's, they use about 42 speakers!) The Niro only requires about 5 speakers due to the Time Delay technology.
Also, for those who say that the ZVOX SB's don't have enough sound in the Rear, I believe that you have not adjusted the settings and the phase cue adequately.

see ZVOX web site for details. A cheap solution to those needing a Digital to Analog converter for their ZVOX systems.

Quote:

If your TV does not have analog audio output jacks -- and only has digital audio output -- you can order this simple digital-to-analog converter box. It converts your TV's optical (toslink) or coaxial digital output to an analog signal you can connect to your ZVOX system. This converter is small in size and quite easy to install.

Keep in mind that the D to A converter that we have on the site only works on a PCM stream. It doesn't decode Dolby Digital. if you are using OTA for your TV, then it won't work. You need a Dolby Digital converter, and they are considerably more money.

The 425 was made with optical and coax digital inputs, but they are tough to find in the wild. It was called the 425xsHSD, like it's cousins the 430HSD, 550HSD and 575HSD. The only current model from that line is the 430HSD.

The 550 and 575 have been replaced by the 555 and 580, which both have optical and coax inputs, as well as 2 RCA and 1 3.5mm on the front, as well as come really cool new features.

We've heard what people have asked for and we're doing our best to accommodate!

Thanks for the update, Kevin. I agree that ZVOX has done a good job of adding the "most requested" features to their new line. I still appreciate the simple analog approach, myself, but understand that it is not the best solution for others.

In my opinion, ZVOX continues to be one of the most "consumer friendly" companies around, so kudos for that as well!